Before they were lost
by Caryl4ever
Summary: Just my veiws on a prequel for the Dixons. Theres other family members. Also some explanations to things on the show. Please Review.
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't _just_ them. It was never _just_ them. But the rest of the group didnt know that. They would never _ever_ know that. But sometimes Daryl thinks they should. For Merle's sake. They think he's just a drug addicting asshole. He wasn't always like that. He used to be the kind of brother you could talk to. Sometimes, just the women, but sometimes he would talk about _feelings_. He wasn't always an ass, not before...nevermind. But he used to be _nice_.

"Could you quit grabbin' me"

"I'm trying to be fun, but you just won't let me"

Danny was trying to mess with Bambi, just because he knew it would bother her. Danny was Daryl and Merle's cousin. Bambi, Merle's daughter.

"Quit it, I'm trying to do my homework!"

"Does it look like I care?"

"Hey Danny, quit messing with my girl"

"But, she started it!"

"Ok, how?"

"Um...She's just really fun to annoy?"

"Nope"

"Crap"

Merle got Danny to leave her alone. Then her and Sofia did their homework. Sofia was their baby sister. Biologically Bambi was her neice, but she was a year younger than her, so they just didnt really acknowledge that. Bambi's mom ditched her with Merle when she was a week old. She knew that Miranda, Merle's girlfriend, wasnt her mom but she still let her raise her. Miranda was actually the only one who was a little scared about the stories on the news about that disease going around, spreading rapidly.

"But do think they'll have a vaccine so we wont be like that?"

"They have vaccines for everything, besides its across the damn ocean, so who cares"

"But what if it does reach us before they get a vaccine?"

"Then we'll...duck and cover"

"Danny, you and I both know that wont work"

"Miranda, even Merle knows that wont work"

Bambi and Sofia both started laughing. Merle came in the room. "Their laughter is never good, what happened?"

Miranda looked back at him "Danny called you an idiot"

"Oh..well, that happens all the time, but Danny-"

"Hm?"

"You're a dick"

The girls started laughing again. "Do your homework"

"Yes sir" Sofia was laughing at Bambi's remark.

"I dont hear homework"

"Yeah, thats cuz we aint doin' it"

Sofia was laughing so hard she fell on the floor. Daryl came in the kitchen, to see his little sister laying on the floor laughing.

"Should I go?"

Danny yelled at him "Yes, leave!"

"Danny, go home, your always here!"

"So are you"

"I live here!"

"You aint here that much"

"But, you- nevermind, just go home"

"Hm hmm, keep an eye out for your dad. Rumor has it, he's back in town"

Merle ran back in the room "What?"

"Your dad's comin' back"

"No he aint, he cant, this is my house now! He has to turn around! Go to one of those diseased places so he can die"

Sofia stopped laughing. She came in the living room. Daryl wrapped his arm around her. "What if he just came to beat me?"

They all looked at her "I'm the baby, he hates me the most"

"Nobody hates you"

"Not even daddy?"

There was a pause "No.."

"You're a really bad liar, Daryl" She ran off into her room. Bambi followed her. Merle looked at Daryl.

"What?"

"You just had to say no"

"Well what was I supposed to do? Say, sorry Sofia but our dad hates you? Was I sposed' to say that?"

"You could of worded it differently"

"That dont change it"

"Ya know, the longer you dont go talk to her, the bigger ass you are"

"Shut up, I'm going"

* * *

He went into Sofia's room, it was Bambi's too, but when he came in Bambi left to let them talk. Sofia was curled up in a ball on her bed.

Daryl closed the door "Can I talk to you?"

She shrugged. He sat on the edge of her bed. "You know I'm a really crappy conversation-haver"

She nodded. "But hey, um, you know...he hates all three of us...Bambi too...Were you old enough to remember when he beat her?"

She turned around "He beat Bambi?"

"Hm hmm, I guess since she was three you were only two, so you wouldn't remember"

"He beat her?"

"Yeah"

"When she was three?"

"Yeah, Merle left her home alone cuz he couldn't stay home and neither could anyone else. When he came home, even though it was for only three hours, she was crying under her blanket and her nose was bleeding and she had two black eyes."

"He just left her home?"

"Just for the record, when he came home she was in the same place he left her in...After that he just started taking her to work with him."

"How is this supposed to make me feel better?"

"Idunno, just that he hates everyone, dont make a big deal out of it"

She mumbled "K"

"Good" He kissed her forehead "Go take a shower, its late"

"Ok"

* * *

The next morning Merle was watching cartoons with Miranda and the news report came on. It showed people attacking other people. Eating them. Killing them, without even knowing. Attacking their own family. Merle saw those...things outside their own window.

"Oh, holy shit!"

Miranda jumped up and followed him into the back room where they kept all the hunting stuff. Daryl woke up and went in their with them. Merle threw a bag at him.

"Fill it, we gotta go!"

"Oh fuck"

The front door opened and their dad came in. He came in all relaxed. Covered in blood from killing those..things. When the door slammed Danny woke up and jumped off the couch.

"Oh my god, Merle!"

He ran down the hallway and got really pissed when he saw his dad. "You need to get out! Now!"

"Hey, its my goddamned house, I can do what I want!"

"No it aint, its my house!"

"You only grew up here!"

"Exactly"!

Their fighting woke up the girls. Sofia went over to Daryl when she saw him.

"Daddy!"

Daryl came up behind her and grabbed her, holding her back

"Oh real nice Daryl, dont let my own daughter hug me"

"I was shouting your name in fear you ass!"

Bambi came up behind Merle and tried to grab one of the bags he had. Their dad noticed her.

"Hey there Bambi, ya know-"

Merle shoved him away, cutting him off, guiding Bambi behind him. "Dont you _ever_ go near my little girl"

He got out of their way. Bambi was still behind Merle with a wad of his shirt in her fist, like how she did when she was little.

* * *

It was halloween and Sofia and Bambi were princesses. Other kids had scarier costumes and they really did scare Bambi. She would hide behind Merle the whole time. Sofia fell asleep after the first hour and Daryl had to carry her. They kept going so Bambi could get more candy. They got to one house with a lot of scary decorations and big kids dressed as the living dead. Bambi stood there behind Merle with a wad of his shirt in her hands.

"Hey Merle?"

"Hm?"

"I dont think shes gonna go anymore"

"Why not?"

"I mean look at that house with the robotic decorations, and the big kids, then look at her."

He looked behind him and saw her cowering in fear "Oh"

"We should probably call it a night then"

"Yeah, C'mon princess" He picked up Bambi and they went home.

* * *

They were pretty much done packing supplies and clothes and stuff. They started to go for the door. They didnt know what to do since the undead was crowding it. Their dad got in front of them. Bambi tried to turn the doorknob. Merle grabbed her and pulled her back by Daryl, who was still holding back Sofia. Merle stood there looking out the window for a while. Almost too long. Miranda came up behind him.

"Merle?"

He handed his bag to her and pulled the door open. Sofia and Bambi screamed in Daryl's arms. Miranda jumped back. Merle reached back and threw his dad out the door then slammed it shut. They all ran for the back door, which was clear with their sacrifice. Once they were outside Daryl picked up Sofia and Danny pulled Bambi behind him. They all ran for their lives.


	2. Chapter 2

Once they were deep in the forest they stopped running to catch their breath. Merle sat on the ground.

"Everybody, ok? Nobody bit or nothing?"

"No"

"Alright well thats, um, good"

"Yeah"

"We um, gotta find a place to stay"

"No shit Merle"

"Shut up, I'm leading, maybe we should find a bigger group or something"

"More people, never _ever_ thought I would hear those words from my own brother"

"Daryl, what'd I just say?"

"Your leading"

"I'm leading, now shut up"

"Daddy maybe we should just stay in the woods. Find some tents. Just stay here"

"Or find an empty house"

"Or just stay here"

"Or find a refugee center" Miranda and some others gave suggestions.

"Or stay here"

"Bambi!"

"What?"

"We aint stayin here it aint safe"

"But I like it better here"

"I know me too but we cant"

"We could make it safe, people could keep watch and-"

"Baby listen to me! We aint stayin'"

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because I am just tryin' to keep my damn family safe and they wont let me and yes I'm talking about you!"

She sat down under a tree. "I just wanna stay home"

Merle walked over to her and cupped her face in his hands. "Right now, home is wherever we can live through the night"

She dove into his arms. Right then they heard moans. They gathered all their bags and started running again.

* * *

They couldnt keep going. Sofia couldnt run anymore and Daryl sprained his ankle carrying her. They found a spot between some office buildings and the forest and they spent the night there. Merle and Daryl stayed up and made a plan off of one of Danny's gas station maps (He worked at a 7-11). Danny did turn back to get the truck, conveniently with Merle's bike in the back. So they had the cars. It _was_ the only reason they were planning so far ahead.

"What if we go here?"

"No, thats where the geeks came from"

"What about there?"

"Look at that street"

Merle looked down at it. "Yeah so what?"

"Thats where we just came from"

"Shit"

They were trying to pass the time until morning. They couldnt sleep. It didnt help that the tent was crowded enough with the girls...And Danny.

"What about Atlanta?"

"Lots of people...Lots of food"

"Lots of protection. Military. Bombs"

"You want your daughter runnin' around with grenades?"

"Better than just her good intentions"

"She's the only one who has intentions!"

"Shut up"

Daryl mumbled something Merle couldn't understand. "What?"

"Nothing"

"No, whatd you say?"

"Nothing!"

"Say it"

"Or what?"

"Or you have to sit in the car with Danny"

"I _drive_ the car"

"I'll make him go shot-gun"

"So"

"I'll make him _talk_ to you"

"Fine! Stop threatening me!"

"What'd you say?"

"...Nothing"

"Daryl!"

"Merle!"

"Shut up, and tell me what you said!"

"...Thats...not...physically possible"

"Tell me!"

"Its just that...I mean, the dead are eating the living"

"And..."

"Have we even decided that..."

"What?"

"That...we want to live?"

"..." He just stared at Daryl for a while "DARYL!"

When Merle screamed at him he jumped. "What?"

"Yes we want to live!"

"Why! Whats the reason?"

Merle looked at the tent. "Here it comes"

Daryl turned around as Sofia dove into his arms in fear. "Merle?"

"What now?"

"You...are an ass"

"Aint I?"

* * *

The next morning, when everyone was awake Daryl and Merle went over the plan.

"So, were gonna head towards Atlanta through the forest"

Bambi didnt get it "Didnt the news people say it started there?"

"They probably cleared it"

"I thought the forest 'wasnt safe'"

"Well its safer than the roads"

"We cant exactly drive through trees"

"Bike trails wide enough"

"Why didnt we do that first then?"

"We were panicking ok!"

"You coulda just let me stay there"

Merle interrupted "No, we couldnt have left you out there by yourself! You coulda got killed!"

"But I didnt!"

"You werent out there"

"Screw that"

They thought they heard some walkers so they started to pack their stuff and head into the forest.

* * *

They were walking for a while. Just hunting, saving some gas too if they had a better sense of where they were going.

"Daddy, I cant walk anymore, Im too tired"

"I know but we gotta keep goin"

"But-"

"We can stop walkin when we find a place to spend the night."

"Theres a nice tree right there, can we stop now?"

"Bambi..."

"Fine, if you dont want me to whine I'll just wait here"

"Just shut up and follow us"

"Fine"

They saw a two story house hidden in the trees and Merle and Daryl knew immediately that they had to raid it.


	3. Chapter 3

They were making their plan. They had to get into that house. They _needed_ more supplies. Daryl and Merle were trying to figure out groups.

"We cant go in there all condensed together. If theres walkers in there we'll all get killed"

"So what do we do?"

He looked back at the house. "Its a two story house, since the top floor is always smaller we should let Bambi and Sofia go up there"

"I dont know, I mean thats my baby girl..."

"But wait, just listen Me and Danny will stay on the first floor but by the stairs and you and Miranda can take the rest of the house"

"But-"

"Dont say it. The rest aint that much since I get about half of the bottom, you get the other half, and since upstairs is about half of downstairs so Bambi and Sofia get the same amount and its perfectly even so shut up"

He sighed "Fine"

They told everyone their groups and Bambi was laughing at it. "What?"

"You and Danny"

"Shut up, I could put him with you"

She paused "I'll be good"

"Alright then, so _other than that_ is everybody good with it?"

They all shared glances. "Fine I will take that as a yes"

They started to go towards the house. Merle motioned to them to be quiet. When they got to the house they held out guns, knives, any weapon they had. Daryl whispered back to them.

"Everybody know where there sposed to go?"

They nodded. Daryl opened the door. When it opened the girls jumped back. There werent any walkers. Daryl and Danny led Bambi and Sofia to the stairs and then they were on their own.

* * *

Merle had Miranda behind him. He still didnt like the idea of Bambi upstairs with his baby sister alone. He would look up at the ceiling frequently, like he was checking on them.

"Stop worrying about them"

"I cant"

"If something happens Daryl and Danny will handle it...Daryl will handle it"

"Well nice to know that Danny's trustworthy"

"Only a little"

"What if theres walkers up there? What if they get too loud? What if they put down their weapons?"

"Merle"

"What?"

"Relax, Bambi is fifteen years old, Sofia fourteen. They can handle it"

"But even we could get caught off gaurd, what about them?"

"Not during a raid...Too much pressure"

"Thats what you think" He found a small assortment of kitchen knives. He threw the useful ones in a bag and tossed it back over his shoulder.

"Well at least we found something useful"

"Useful aint good enough"

They kept looking through some drawers and cabinets in the kitchen for anything better than useful.

* * *

Danny kept running into things in an unfamiliar house. Daryl pretty much had to steer him through hallways.

"Can you walk on your own two damn feet"

"Sorry, I dont know where I'm going"

"Use your eyes and figure it out"

"It aint that easy"

"Yes it is"

"You want me to leave dont you?"

"Will you?"

"No, cuz thats the plan damnit! Your own fault"

"Shut up"

"Your the 'boss'"

"Can you please shut your fucking mouth"

He made a zipper motion over his lips.

"Fucking five"

"What?"

"You did the zipper thing, you cant talk"

"Sorry"

"Shut up"

"Ok-"

"Shut up!"

The only thing Daryl suffered for was to find two flash lights.

* * *

Bambi and Sofia were looking in the bedrooms. They found a few blankets and a bottle of water. They tried to open the back bedroom door but it wouldnt budge. Sofia took a room closer to the stairs since she was a little more scared than Bambi. Bambi got stuck in one by the back bedroom. She thought she saw something helpful under the bed. She knelt down to reach it. She heard a noise that made her jump and hit her head on the bed.

"Sofia?" She whispered toward the hallway.

"What?"

"You alright?"

"Yeah"

She continued to look under the bed. She was trying to reach something futher by the wall when she heard more noises. But they were closer this time. Too close. Hands grabbed at her. Ripping into her. She screamed. Daryl and Danny heard it. Merle and Miranda heard it. They all started to run upstairs at once. When Sofia came into the room she screamed too. A walker tried to grab her but Daryl shot it and pulled her back. He shot all the walkers surrounding Bambi. There were too many. Once they were all killed and moved out of the way...She was already completely still. Staring at the wall. Merle pushed his way through Daryl and Sofia. She was still crying.

"There...They werent here before! I dont know where they came fr-"

Then she saw the door. That door they couldn't open. They didnt open it. They _loosened_ it.


End file.
